Write Better Stories with Master Studies of Mentor Texts

This is an excellent video to show how to use the mentor texts. Thanks so much. I have joined the ReFoReMo and am thoroughly enjoying it and definitely finding mentor texts. The book I chose for this exercise is Tip- Tap Pop by Sarah Lynn, illustrated by Valeria Docampo.
The characters are a little girl Emma and her grandpa wh are tap dancing partners.
The problem is that Pop stopped dancing
The inciting incident and escalation is that Pop started forgetting things and then stopped dancing or talking, just sat in his chair
Resolution; Emma put on a tap dancing show like the ones that she and Pop used to do together and his feet joined in with the tapping so she got his shoes and they danced again at least for that day.
Book Concept- This shows how to cope with an older person who has memory issues and how to keep those shared memories alive. I chose this book as a mentor text because I am writing a book about a grandpa as well and because I really liked the way it dealt with a common social issue that many families deal with. This would help children to understand.

Thanks Myrna! Since I am in the messy middle of a story with a non-human character struggling with his identity, and the concept of found families, I chose GASTON by Kelly DiPucchio as my mentor text.

1. Main Character: Gaston, a bulldog puppy
2. Problem: Due to a mixup at the animal hospital, he winds up in a family of fancy French poodles. .
3. Inciting Incident: The puppy mixup is actually told visually, in the pictures on the copyright and title pages.
4. Escalation of Tension: Gaston tries to fit in, and be fancy like Mama Poodle likes, but then they go on their first trip to the park – and meet a rough-and-tumble bulldog family with one little poodle pup.
5. Resolution: The puppies switch places, so that the poodles are all together and the bulldogs are all together. It looks right, but it doesn’t *feel* right – aww great emotion! So the puppies switch back; nurture has a stronger pull than nature in this story. Then the 2 swapped-at-birth puppies grow up, fall in love, and have puppies of their own.
6. It Factor – Finding yourself and fitting in are always great themes. Plus – puppies! And this book has a lovely French flavor to it, making it even more charming.

Thank you Myrna, great post.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein, illustrated by Mark Pett.
Characters: Beatrice Bottomwell, her parents, her younger brother Carl who loves to make mistakes, her hamster Humbert, her best friends Millie and Sara, her fans. Main Character is Beatrice. Most people in town did not even know her name, they just called her ” The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes.”
Problem: On Friday night, Beatrice is participating as a juggler in the talent show. Everybody in town is there . She has won first price three years in a row. Somehow this year she is worried that she will mess up. Her father reassures her ” you never mess up.” She picks up Humbert, the salt shaker and fills up a balloon with water.
Inciting Incident: Beatrice is on stage, the music is playing, the crowd is clapping with delight. As she juggles her three elements she notices something odd about the salt shaker. The specks falling out of it are not white.
Escalation: Humbert sneezes and is so surprised by his giant sneeze that he grabs the water balloon with his claws. Humbert, pepper, water, and pieces of the balloon fall down on Beatrice’s head.
For the first time Beatrice makes a mistake and it is a big one. She does not know if she should leave the stage or just cry. The music stops and the crowd is stunned.
Resolution: Beatrice looks up at Humbert, he looks back at her, his fur is soaked and covered by bits of balloon. She lets out a giggle which grows into a chuckle which becomes a laugh. The audience looks at each other and reacts in the same way. Everybody laughs so hard until they don’t remember why they are laughing.
Book Concept: A perfectionist girl makes a mistake for the first time and she realizes that it is OK. She starts enjoying not being perfect. The people start calling her simply Beatrice and her fans don’t knock at her door anymore.
I liked this book because people who are perfectionists are admired by others until they make a mistake and the whole process stops. Perfectionists are constantly putting pressure on themselves. Very interesting how the illustrator used black and white on the fans and audience and colors on the rest.

I chose GUS AND GRANDPA AND THE TWO WHEELED BIKE by Claudia Mills.
Characters- Gus, Grandpa and mom and dad
Problem- Gus uses training wheels to bike compared to same boy his age who uses the real bike. He always finds himself falling using the new bike (with two wheels) that his mom and dad buy for him.
Inciting incident- He turns to Grandpa for help telling him his sentiments.
Escalate- Grandpa fixes the old, old bike stored in the broken shed that Gus’s father used when he was a young boy his age. They practice a million times until Gus eventually flies like a winged horse galloping in the sky.
Concept- the love and affection between a father and son resurrected in the third generation through the passing of times.